The off-stoichiometry effect on the optical properties of water-soluble copper indium zinc sulfide quantum dots.

CuInZnS quantum dots (CIZS QDs) were prepared via reflux method in aqueous solution using CuCl·2HO, InCl·4HO, Zn(OAc)·2HO and NaS·9HO as raw materials, l-glutathione (GSH) and sodiumcitrate (SC) as stabilizing agents, respectively. The effects of off-stoichiometry (Cu/In and Zn/Cu ratios) on the crystal structure and morphology were systematically studied by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), and the relative optical properties were also investigated by absorption and fluorescence spectra. The as-prepared water-dispersible CIZS QDs were around 3-4nm and possessed the tetragonal chalcopyrite crystal structure. The photoluminescence (PL) intensity of QDs was significantly increased with decreasing the Cu/In ratio. Compared with the Cu/In ratio variation, changing Zn/Cu ratio was an effective strategy to realize a more uniform irradiation and a wide range of emission wavelength tunability.